This is the new gilded age. I am happy
for my stack of pennies, a new used car,

a tax bill with my name on it, coffee
straight from the pot each morning.

The mountains here rise
at a very walkable angle.

There are plenty of seats on the summit.
You can see the dark clouds amassing

from miles away. I had a big wedding.
I’ve stood beneath a waterfall.

I put my arms around my family
in the Christmas photo.

Everything is filled with color. If only I had
a cigarette. If only I had cocaine.

The world is on fire.
So this is the end.


Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash

Trapper Markelz

Trapper Markelz (he/him) is a husband, father of four, poet, musician, and cyclist, who writes from Boston, Massachusetts. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in the journals Baltimore Review, Stillwater Review, Greensboro Review, Passengers Journal, High Shelf Press, Dillydoun Review, and others. You can learn more about him at trappermarkelz.com